Up a creek with poor watercraft

Cheap equipment and inadequate training can lead to disaster on Pocono waterways

Editor's note: With alarming frequency, reports of drownings or near-drownings on our local waterways have made headlines.

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By JENNA EBERSOLE

poconorecord.com

By JENNA EBERSOLE

Posted Jul. 24, 2013 at 12:01 AM

By JENNA EBERSOLE
Posted Jul. 24, 2013 at 12:01 AM

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OUR DEADLY WATERS

June 11: Shirtless but wearing life vests, Dean Vliet Jr. and Brandon Whitmore, both 20, of Stroudsburg, were rescued from the rain-swollen Pocono Creek behind Stroudsburg High School. The...

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OUR DEADLY WATERS

June 11: Shirtless but wearing life vests, Dean Vliet Jr. and Brandon Whitmore, both 20, of Stroudsburg, were rescued from the rain-swollen Pocono Creek behind Stroudsburg High School. Their kayak had hit a downed tree and capsized.

June 29: Gary West, 38, of Summit, N.J., went missing after his inflatable raft overturned in the Delaware River near Upper Mount Bethel Township during a group outing. He was not wearing a life vest. His body was recovered July 2, just south of the Upper Black Eddy-Milford bridge.

July 8: Michael Maxwell, 9, of Bushkill, was fishing with family members downstream from the Bushkill Boat Access along the Delaware River in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in Pike County when he lost his footing, slipped into the water and was pulled under by the current. Divers found his body downstream in deeper water.

July 9: In Port Jervis, N.Y., Christopher Montalvo, 29, of Middletown, N.Y., was pulled from the water at a swimming spot known as Goose Rock. Neither he nor his companions were wearing life jackets. Montalvo died the following day.

July 19: Abby Ortiz, 18, of Stroudsburg, nearly drowned when while tubing with a church group on the Delaware River. Ortiz, who lost her ill-fitting life vest when her tube turned over, was rescued by rafters.

July 20: Juan Roberto Salomon Delacruz, 51, of Brooklyn, drowned in the Delaware River near Kittatinny Point on the New Jersey side in the Delaware Water Gap Regional Area during a swimming and picnicking outing with family members. He was not wearing a life jacket.

July 21: The body of 24-year-old Anthony F. Luyando of East Stroudsburg was recovered in Brodhead Creek in Stroud Township. Initial autopsy results ruled his manner of death to be accidental and the cause to be drowning.

July 22-23: Rescue workers were looking for a missing fisherman in his late 50s, who was believed to have fallen overboard while boating on the lake at Beltzville State Park. The man's unoccupied boat was found running on the water with a life jacket onboard.

Editor's note: With alarming frequency, reports of drownings or near-drownings on our local waterways have made headlines.

The incidents, while tragic and regrettable, have also been preventable. Lapses in judgment and/or ignorance of fundamental safety rules contributed, authorities say.

The Pocono Record today begins an occasional series of stories on water safety.

Among the topics we plan to cover: Making appropriate choices in your watercraft, getting properly outfitted in a personal flotation device, what you can do as a bystander in case of a water emergency and how rescuers train for such emergencies.

Our goal is not to scare you out of having fun in the water but to educate and remind you of the sensible precautions that should be observed.

Your life — and those of your loved ones — depend on it.

For those planning a day on the lake or river, the choice of watercraft is critical.

Too often a lack of experience or knowledge can spell disaster, a water safety official and a member of the boating rental industry said.

One of the most common mistakes is taking low-quality inflatable rafts and tubes to bodies of water where they were never meant to be used, said Bruce Barton, chief of Northeast Search and Rescue.

"You can't maneuver them real well," he said. "You hit a branch and rip them, they sink like a rock."

The cheaper inflatables are often designed for the still water of pools or small ponds and lakes, rather than moving water, Adventure Sports Owner David Jacobi agreed.

Higher-quality inflatable tubes and boats, by contrast, typically have chambers so that a snag does not always translate to sinking.

"A cheaper raft is much thinner. It doesn't resist punctures as well," said Jacobi, whose Marshalls Creek company rents kayaks and rafts for use on the Delaware River.

The other issue is that people who buy low-cost inflatable watercraft often get no instruction on safety from stores that are not sports outfitters. They also typically do not have life preservers, or the personal flotation devices that they do have are ill-fitting, he said.

Boaters using the low-quality rafts also may not understand the true lengths of the trips. Though they might be able to reach shore in an emergency, they could still be stranded miles from someone who could help.

Even higher-quality boats, like kayaks and canoes, can be dangerous on the Delaware if someone bought them used or borrowed them without getting similar instructions, Jacobi said.

Still, kayaks and canoes generally do well on the Delaware, Jacobi said, as do higher-quality rafts and tubes.

The Delaware is one of the safer local options, with few unexpected challenges like waterfalls. It is also more heavily trafficked, so someone is more likely to happen by and be able to help.

Local creeks, such as Brodhead Creek and Bushkill Creek, are more dangerous to boaters. They are full of rocks, rapids and dropoffs. Using a kayak is the only good option, but even so, Jacobi said, kayakers should be experienced.

"They underestimate the power of water. The force of water," Jacobi said of inexperienced boaters. "And they just don't know the area."

Conditions on the creeks can also change quickly, with downed trees and high waters from storms.

At Dunkelberger's on Stroudsburg's Main Street on Tuesday, Sales Associate Tim Landes presented different options the sports outfitter carries. From inflatable inner tubes to inflatable canoes, Landes said many choices are safe for use on a river like the Delaware.

When someone buys watercraft, the store asks if they have a personal flotation device and shows them a selection. Dunkelberger's also offers safety information and regulations to customers.

"It's not like you just want to go, blow it up and jump in the water," Landes said.